A culinary path to Israel

Leah Franqui has had a busy week. When she isn’t keeping up with the deadline for her novel, Leah is prepping up for an Israeli meal at her Juhu home. Today, she went shopping for a leg of mutton, which will be roasted in tangy homemade pomegranate syrup. A first ever experience as a host for Leah herself, she is looking forward to introducing diners to authentic Israeli cuisine.

“When you think of Israeli cuisine, unfortunately, only falafel and hummus come to mind. While these are delicious preparations, there is so much more to explore,” she points out the lack of knowledge about the cuisine. She adds, “The cuisine is all about fresh preparations. We often have a colourful fare of veggies, fresh spreads and ingredients, which isn’t as popular as the hummus.”

Israel’s diverse population makes the cuisine unique, reveals Leah. “Since Israel became a nation in 1948, the food culture is young,” she explains. Israeli cuisine today is a melting pot of cuisines from Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Mediterranean countries and Jews from Eastern Europe and even Russia. “This cross-pollination of cultures helped Israeli cuisine since these identities swapped and shared their culinary traditions,” she informs.

Roasted beets in Tahini; Leah

The pop-up at Leah’s home will begin with limonana, a mint-based lemonade drink. Next comes a mezze platter with roasted beets; Israeli salad, made of tomatoes, cucumber and parsley; a Sephardic Jew version of chicken meatballs, and of course, hummus. The main course includes whole roasted mutton leg with pomegranate molasses with Persian rice. For dessert, there’s Apple Honey Cake, which is typically served for Jewish New Year.

Leah reveals that the fare is as authentic as it gets since she will recreate recipes from the award-winning cookbook Zahav by Israeli chef Michael Solomonov, who won the top U.S chef award only yesterday. “This chef has pioneered the modern Israeli food movement in the U.S. Since his recipes are true to its authenticity, it made sense to use it as a starting point.”

The writer hopes that Mumbai becomes home to Israeli restaurant soon. “Currently,  the only way to savour an undisputed version of the fare is at home. Mumbai’s restaurants don’t even come close to what the cuisine is. I find it rather surprising how the city hasn’t taken to Middle Eastern food in general, given how easily the ingredients are available,” says Leah. Well, now we know whom to call…

In association with Authenticook, On May 7,  For more information, visit authenticook.com